The OC: Life, Death, and In Between
by Tangence McCurson
Summary: A classic O.C. story about death, mystery, romance, and betrayal. It did have several sequels but they were awful, so I left it at this. Note to reader: this takes place after season 2 valentine's day episode.
1. Death

_**The O.C.: Life, Death, and In Between**_

Chapter 1-

CURRENTLY:

Ryan and Lindsay are currently going steady. Ryan seems to think that he is in love with Lindsay, but something in the pit of his stomach seems to tell him that its just his hormones raging. He isn't sure, still having some feelings for Marissa, who is currently "gay." Seth and Summer have feeling for each other, but can't confess, fearing all of the chaos and turmoil that they will create in doing so. Sandy has kissed Rachel, and the unknowing Kirstin is shutting him out of her life. Julie is conjuring her plan to steal all of Caleb's money. Welcome to the O.C., bitch.

Marissa glanced up at Alex, the two sitting on the beach. It was their first date, their first time together as a "couple," and their first kiss had just happened. She had never experienced anything like that before, kissing another girl. She wasn't sure if she liked it or not. Something that shook her from inside told her that this is what she was. She was gay. She was a bisexual. All those times she had secretly laughed at Luke's dad, snickered at him from inside, and now it was coming back to haunt her. But Marissa wasn't sure. Was this a way of getting at her mom, or was it–shudder–love? But she hadn't even told her mother about the two, so it couldn't possibly be to get her mother–could it? Maybe it was. She had to find out.

THE NEXT DAY- Ryan smiled and hung up the telephone. He had just told Lindsay to come by later, maybe in a few minutes. Something told him this was love. Something deep in the pit of his stomach that beat like the constant of a metronome. Yes this was love–or was it lust...Love, he told himself, indeed, this is what it was, for he had even apologized to Caleb! It had to be...wasn't it?

Caleb sat at his desk, typing away, when he turned and saw that Julie had entered the room. "Have you finished your will?" asked Julie.

"Yes, Ju-Ju. When are you going back home? Didn't you have an appointment at the spa or something?"

"Yes," smiled Julie. "Let me bring you your heart medication." Julie turned and reached for a glass of water on the desk behind her. Caleb didn't see her slip a pill into the water that immediately began to dissolve and bubble. "Here you go, Caleb. Now I've got to go. I am spa-ing at two!" She giggled and left the room.

Marissa knew that she had to do this, she just had to. It was a matter of her sexuality. Was she gay or was she not? She didn't know–yet. Marissa slipped the thin robe over her nude body and exited her room.

"Summer, I just wanted to say that I am sorry about the other day," said Seth, plopping down on the couch beside her. They were in the Lobster Shack. Zach had left to go visit some family in Nebraska, so this was a good time to talk.

"I can't believe this, Cohen," said Summer.

"What?"

"You're still in love with me," said Summer. "We can't–"But before she could finish her sentence, Seth lips met hers. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in towards him. She let him kiss her and then pulled away. "Cohen, we can't–"

"Just hear me out Summer. I love you. I've always loved you. I don't know why I left this summer or anything and I just–"

"Cohen–me and Zach–we're going out and–"

"Summer—"

"We had sex."

Marissa opened the door to the pool house. She saw Ryan sprawled out on the bed. "Ryan," she said, and hurried over to where he lay. She plopped down on the bed beside him, and, before he could say anything, began to kiss him.

Ryan let her kiss him, and ran his hands up and down her robe. She tugged at his shirt until she had pulled it off and then sat up and let her robe drop down to her waist. She let him pull it the rest of the way off and then went to unsnap his jeans. She began to unzip them when she heard the door open behind them. Marissa glanced up, nude, and saw Kirstin and Lindsay standing at the door. She grabbed the robe and quickly put it on.

Lindsay stood there, tear running down her cheeks. "Why!" she screamed, and darted down the path. Marissa followed after her. Ryan, still shirtless, ran towards the door, but Kirstin stopped him. "Ryan, how dare you? How could you do this?"

"Kirstin–Marissa just came in there and jumped on me–"

"It didn't look like you were trying to stop her."

"Kirstin, I love Lindsay and–"

"Just stay away from her." Kirstin slammed the door in his face.

Seth sat there, mouth agape. Tears began to well up in his eyes. "What?"

"We had sex–after you left, in the hotel room. I'm sorry Cohen." Summer stood and turned to walk towards the door. "I do love you Cohen, but we aren't meant to be together."

Lindsay sat on a deserted pier, tears running down her cheeks. "Why?" she said to herself. She turned and saw Marissa approaching her. "You whore!" she cried. "You mother-fucking whore! I hate you bitch! Just stay away from me!"

Marissa walked towards her. "Listen Lindsay...there's something I need to tell you...I think that I might be gay...that's why I went to Ryan, to see if it was really true–but it isn't, I don't think–but I still don't know."

Marissa burst into tears.

"So you go and try to get in my boyfriend's pants? You dyke! You whore! You slut!" Lindsay stood and charged at Marissa. "I hate you!" She hit her hard. Marissa was flung over the side of the pier.

"Oh my God!" cried Lindsay, watching the screaming Marissa hitting the needle sharp water below. "What have I done? I killed Marissa..."


	2. More Deaths and Secrets

Chapter 2-

Sandy entered the hotel room and saw Rachel brushing her hair, standing in front of her mirror. Sandy walked up to her and smiled. "What are you plans for today?"

"To make love to a special someone."

"Rachel," he growled, "You know that–"

"Why can't we?"

"Because I'm married, Rachel. I have a wife and two kids. I have another life."

Rachel kissed him hard and began to unbutton his shirt. "Just us, Sandy. No ties, no bondage, just a few times. It's just sex. It's not like anyone has to know. She kissed him again and unbutton his shirt. He began to unbutton her shirt also. He slipped it from her upper body and unsnapped her bra. "I've missed you for so long he said."

"I missed you too."

She slowly slipped herself out of her pants and they stood together with nothing but their underwear on.

Summer sat on her bed, watching Season 2 of The Valley. She heard the door open and looked up. There was Seth, standing there. He smiled at her. "Summer, we can't do this. I have to be with you."

Summer stood and walked up to him. "Seth..."

"Please, Summer, forget about everything that's happened. It can be just you and me..."

"Seth..."

Seth kissed Summer hard and kicked the door shut. He backed away and pulled his shirt off. Summer ran up to him and kissed him. He began to unbutton her shirt and pushed her back onto the bed. He took off his pants and shoes and climbed up on top of her.

Sandy and Rachel lay in bed together, kissing each other romantically. Sandy held a joint in between his fingers, exhaling a puff of smoke. "Just like the old days," he said.

"I'm going to take a shower," said Rachel. "Do you want to join?"

"Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes," smiled Sandy.

"I'll get the bathing oil."

Caleb began to choke. He was still sitting in his office. He had drank the water, and now was dying. He fell to the floor, coughing, and then coughed no more. He didn't see a smiling Julie standing at the window.

Kirstin lay on her bed, crying. She knew what her husband was doing. He was with Rachel. They were probably making love at this very moment. And then there was Ryan, cheating on her sister, Lindsay. Her whole life was falling apart. She didn't know what to do.

A fisherman and his grandson stood fishing at the beach. His grandson ran up to him, screaming. "Grandpa! I found something!"

"What is it?"

The boy led his grandpa to a large lump in the wet sand along the splashing waves. The old man bent down and found that the lump was a girl. And she was breathing. The old man gasped.

Lindsay walked into Ryan's pool house, crying. "Oh, Lindsay," said Ryan, running to embrace her. Lindsay hugged him, still crying.

"Ryan, I've done something terrible," she said.

"What is it?"

"I–I killed Marissa."

Ryan's face turned red. He instantly grabbed the closest thing to him and smashed it upside Lindsay's head. It was one of the weights near him. He watched blood begin to roll down Lindsay's head as she fell to the ground. Ryan gasped, just realizing what he had done. "Lindsay!" he cried, kneeling down beside her. "Oh Lindsay, what have I done?" He felt her wrist for a pulse. There was nothing.

Lindsay was dead.


	3. Love and the Forgetful

Chapter 3-

Seth and Summer lay in bed together, Summer wrapped in Seth's arms. They were asleep, they had been for the past few hours.

The phone rang and a naked Summer sat up in bed to answer it. "Oh my God," she cried. "The hospital? Okay." She hung up the phone and began to dress. She turned and looked at a soundly sleeping Seth. She had missed him. She had longed for him all this time. Now what would she do? Would she stay with Seth, her first true love, or would she leave him for the smart and witty Zach? Now was not the time to worry about that. Marissa was at Newport Hospital in a coma. She had to make sure she was okay.

When Julie glanced up, sitting in the lounge chair at the hospital, she saw Summer and Ryan. Ryan looked sad and weak. Maybe he really did love Marissa. Who knew? And then there was the horrified Summer. Summer must have called that evil bitch. But whatever. She didn't care. Just as long as her baby was okay–yeah, right. Caitlyn, her favorite daughter, sat beside her, bored to tears. She constantly asked Julie, "Can we go home now? How about now? What about now?" Julie had gotten tired of her and sent her to the vending machine. That had shut her up for a while.

"Where is she?" asked Ryan, who felt even more sick knowing that Marissa was alive and that he had killed Lindsay for nothing.

"In the room across from us. She has just woke up. She lost her memory. They said she forgot everything over the past eight months."

"So what? She thinks–she thinks we're still together?" asked Ryan.

"Apparently," sneered Julie. "She's been asking for you and her father. The doctor said she may never regain the memory from that time."

Ryan's heart and stomach seemed to flip over.

Sandy smiled at Rachel, doing his tie, and turned to open the door. She grabbed him around the neck and kissed his cheek. "I love you, Sandy."

And the bad thing was, Sandy thought he loved her too.

Seth woke up to find Summer sitting in her chair in the corner. "Hello, sexy," he sighed sleepily.

"Cohen, what are we going to do?"

He stood, wrapping the sheet around him and walked over towards her. She stood up and hugged him. "I love you, Cohen...it's just...I don't want to...I don't know..."

"Shh," he said. "Don't worry about it. At least for right now."

Ryan sat beside Marissa's bed. She seemed to be asleep, but then he felt someone touching his arm. He looked down at her and saw that she was awake. She leaned up to kiss him and he let her. "They said they found me on the beach. Do you know what happened?"

Ryan shook his head. He thought to himself: you fat-ass liar.

TWO MONTHS LATER

Lindsay never returned home. No one could find her anywhere. Only Ryan knew where she was, and he, of course, would never tell.


	4. Babies and Affairs

Chapter 4-

Ryan kissed Marissa hard. It was two months after Marissa had been pushed off the pier. Two months after they had found her. Two months after Ryan had murdered Lindsay, thinking that Marissa was dead. Now Marissa and Ryan both lay in bed, naked, kissing. They had made love in Ryan's pool house, and had just awaken to find themselves in a loving bliss

Ryan wrapped his arms around Marissa and pulled her closer to his body. They were both hot and sweaty, panting. Marissa sighed and let Ryan crawl on top of her. He nibbled at her neck, the whole time whispering how much he loved her.

Marissa had just began to remember the past 8 months, but only flashes of it. She told no one, how she remembered trying to give herself to Ryan, some one named D.J., Lindsay, and Alex. She remembered having sex with D.J. and missing Ryan...he had gone for some reason. And then she remembered falling off the pier, and seeing the girl named Lindsay as she fell and fell and fell.

Ryan and Marissa had sex five times that day. They were deeply in love. Ryan and Marissa could not be seperated.

Zach had returned. He didn't suspect anything at first. But then he began to spy secretly on Summer and Seth. Summer and Seth decided not to see each other, and just to forget that one night of love and bliss. But Seth couldn't. He loved Summer, and there was no way he was going to forget.

On a Saturday night when Zach was at the movies with some of his friends, Seth walked to Summer's house and climbed up to her room. He knocked on the window and she let him in. They made love but promised not to tell anyone. They couldn't. Chaos. Turmoil. Terror. They knew they couldn't. They secretly loved each other. He would sneak her kisses and sometimes they would sneak into the closet–only sometimes. Other times she would come to his house and they would make love–either in his room or they would borrow Ryan's pool house.

Summer was sitting on her bed one night when she suddenly got sick. She ran to the bathroom and vomited. She knew what this was. Summer bought a few pregnancy test and peed on the strips. They tested positive.

At the same time, Marissa and Rachel were testing themselves also. They both tested positive.

Caleb Nichol's funeral had been held a month and a half ago. One of his employees had found him sprawled out on the floor of his office. The ironic thing was his will was clutched in his hand. It said that everything was to go to Julie Cooper.

Kirstin lay on her bed, drunk, smiling up at the ceiling. Everything seemed better like this. Drunken. And nothing to care about. Worlds orbit around her head and yet she orbits around the sun. Ahh. Who cares? Everything was going wrong, her family was falling apart. Nothing seemed right. She glanced over to see Sandy standing in the doorway.

"If we can't work these things out," she screamed, "You are going to leave!"

Sandy shook his head and left the room.

Nothing was right.

Marissa sat up naked in bed. She turned and leaned her head against Ryan's shoulder. "I love you."

"I love you too," he said, and took something off of his bed. He showed it to her–it was a velvety jewelry box. He opened it, revealing a diamond ring. "Marry me," he smiled. "Marry me, Marissa Cooper. I love you."


	5. Discoveries

Chapter 5-

"Seth, we need to talk," said Summer over the phone. "Come to my house. Now."

Seth smiled to himself. "Okay."

Marissa smiled at Ryan. She embraced him, and they fell back on the bed. "Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes! I love you, Ryan Atwood! I love you!" She kissed him hard and he rolled on top of her. He slipped the ring onto her finger and smiled at Marissa.

"We can be married next month."

"What about next week?" smiled Marissa.

"What? Where?" cried Ryan.

"Vegas."

"Seth, I'm pregnant." Summer was crying.

"What?" cried Seth.

"I tested myself—three times–and all three times it tested positive."

Seth ran up to Summer and embraced her. "Shh," he said, trying to calm her. "Everything will be okay... I love you and you love me...we can get through this together."

Summer smiled weakly at him. "Hold me?"

Rachel kissed Sandy hard. "There's something I need to tell you."

"What is it?"

"I'm pregnant."

"What!" Sandy cried, pushing her away from him.

"You're the father."

"No, I'm not. No strings attached, remember? I am not dealing with this, you gold digging bitch." Sandy growled at her and shoved her to the side.

"Sandy, I've never seen you act this way before–"

"Everything's fucking falling apart. My wife wants a divorce, my sister-in-law's missing, and I'm fucking a woman that I was in love with twenty years ago."

"Sandy, if that's the way you feel–"

"Damnit, Rachel, that is the way I feel."

"But Sandy–"

Sandy turned and left.

Two garbage men were dumping a load when they saw a mysterious lump lying near a old rugged couch. They began to check it out and saw that it was a young woman. She had been dead for a little over two months.

The young woman was Lindsay.

Zach smiled at Mr. Roberts and turned to walk down the hall to Summer's room. He opened the door and gasped at what he saw. There was Summer lying on her bed, snug in Seth Cohen's arms.


	6. Decisions

Chapter 6-

Zach stared in awe at his girlfriend, Summer, and his friend, Seth Cohen. He slowly backed away towards the door, watching the two sleep soundly. He hit a desk, trying to back out of the room without making much noise. He looked over at it and saw that on the desk was a FIRST CHOICE PREGNANCY TEST. He gasped.

Summer was pregnant.

Now the only question was, with who?

Ryan dressed himself for that night's annual Children's Hospital's Benefit Ball. Marissa lay on his bed, watching him. She smiled and stood, still stark naked. "I've got to get home to change."

"What are you going to tell your mom about the ring?"

Marissa glanced down at the gift Ryan had given her when he asked her to marry him. "Oh..I'll hide it or something. Until next week end." She winked at him and embraced her fiancee. "I'll see you tonight."

Ryan smiled. "Meet me in the bathroom on the third floor."

Sandy walked into his bedroom and began to undress so that he could take his bath. Kirstin walked in and glanced up at him. "Were you with her?" she asked.

"Rachel? I saw her today. We were discussing her case."

"I'm sure," said Kirstin angrily. She walked into the bathroom and slammed the door. This was not working out at all.

Summer lay beside Seth. She woke first. She glanced over at her lover and kissed him on the cheek. She had to tell Zach. She had to–And that was when she looked up and saw that Zach was sitting on a recliner in the corner of her room. She gasped and then stood quickly. "Zach!" she cried. "What are you—"

"I came to check on you, Summer. But I guess that I don't need to any more. You've found some one to satisfy all of your needs." Zach stood and turned to walk out of the room.

"Zach, wait!" Summer turned to see that Seth was awake. He yawned and stood to walk towards her. She glanced from him to Zach. Now was the time that she had to make a decision. It was now or never.

Kirstin turned to answer the ringing phone. "Hello," she said. "This is Kirstin. WHAT! They found Lindsay?"

Summer turned and looked at Seth. She had made her choice. She knew what she must do. She turned and ran around the bed towards Zach. "Zach, wait! Wait!"

Zach turned around and sharply snapped, "What!"

"Zach, I am so sorry that you had to find out this way, but I love Cohen. I have always loved Cohen, and if I stay with you...nothing would be real. Nothing is real between us." She turned and ran back into her room. "Seth!" she smiled and kissed him hard on the lips. "I love you."

Marissa sat at her vanity, putting on her face, when she heard the door open behind her. "Mom?" she said, turning around. But it wasn't her mom. There stood Alex. Alex ran up to her.

"I'm so glad you're okay!" she cried, and leaned in and kissed Marissa on the lips.


	7. A Benefit Creates Cause for Lust and For...

Chapter 7-

Marissa pushed Alex back. "Who are you?"

"What? I'm Alex, stupid." She kissed Marissa again and pushed her back onto the bed. "Take your shirt off."

"No. I'm not like that. I don't know who you are, but you better get away from me or–"

"Oh, so this is how we're playing today?" Alex pulled off her top.

"Stop it!" cried Marissa. She stood and ran towards the door.

"Where are you going, Marissa?"

Marissa opened the door. "Get out. Get out now."

"Okay," said Alex, walking out of the door. She sighed and turned back towards Marissa. "Call me when you're ready for third base."

"Eww!" cried Marissa, a bit disguisted, slamming the door in Alex's face.

Seth and Summer entered the large ball room together. Seth spotted his mother and father on opposite sides of the room. Seth motioned Summer towards the stairs. "There's an empty lounge upstairs."

Sandy approached Kirstin. "Kirstin, I just wanted to apologize for how I've been acting lately."

Kirstin glared at him. "It's going to take a lot more than an apology."

"How about this?" Sandy handed her a folded sheet of paper and walked away. Kirstin opened it and read it:

Go to the lounge on the 2nd floor.

Seth kissed Summer hard and began unbuttoning his shirt. He unsnapped his pants and pressed his body against her's. They lay on a couch in the dark corner near the back of the room. That was when they heard the door open. "Hurry," whispered Seth, "to the closet."

Kirstin opened the door and walked inside. She saw a large screen used for viewing movies hung in the front of the lobby. Suddenly a movie began to play. First it showed Kirstin and Sandy on their first date. Then it moved to later dates, their wedding, honeymoon, and the birth of Seth. It showed many moments in their life together. Her eyes began to mist. She heard something in the closet and thought, "It's probably Sandy." Kirstin hurried to the closet and silently but quickly jerked the door open. "Surprise!" she cried.

There was a naked Seth kissing the neck of a naked Summer.

Sandy smiled, listening behind the door in the hallway. He loved his wife. "Hello, Sandy." Sandy turned to see who it was.

Ryan kissed Marissa. They snuck up the hallway together, giggling happily. Ryan was unbuttoning his shirt as Marissa was unzipping her dress. Ryan pulled her into the bathroom and shut the door behind them.

There stood Rachel, smiling in her purple dress. She waved a golden ticket in the air. "I bought a ticket for 100.00. Do I look nice?" She walked towards him and began to kiss him gently, then pushed him against the wall.

"It's over," said Sandy. "I want you to leave town tonight or I swear to God I will call the police."


	8. True Love

Chapter 8-

Ryan zipped up his pants as Marissa zipped up her dress. "We look messed up," smiled Marissa, locking lips with her fiancee. They kissed hard and then he pulled away.

"I love you," said Ryan.

"I love you too." Marissa turned and left the bath room. Ryan stood there for a few minutes staring at himself in the mirror.

"Lindsay..."

Lindsay's mother stood at the morgue, examining her daughter's dead body. "I will get whoever did this to you," she said, "and I will kill them."

Seth, stark naked, glanced up at his mom. "Oh, my God!" Both he and Summer cried at the same time. "Mrs. Cohen!" cried Summer. She grabbed her dress.

"You aren't even wearing protection!" she cried. "Get your clothes on!"

"Hold on mom. I'm getting them on as fast as I can!"

Sandy walked into the room. "Well, hello son." He laughed to himself.

"Don't encourage him, Sandy," growled Kirstin.

"Okay," smiled Sandy. "You go, son," he said, slightly under his breath.

Rachel drove down the road, sadly glancing out of the window. The car suddenly began to slide off the road. It hit a tree and began to roll on its side. She screamed as she was flung from the car.

Sandy walked up to his wife. "So," he said. "The kids are back downstairs."

"Yes," smiled Kirstin.

"I wonder...is this room open to everyone?" He kissed her hard and led her back to one of the couches.

Marissa and Ryan slowly danced, her head rested on Ryan's shoulder. She looked up and saw a smiling Seth and Summer making their way onto the dance floor. Maybe everything would be okay, after all.

THE NEXT DAY...

Law officials found the body of Rachel on the side of the road. They put her in the morgue as a "Jane Doe."

Summer leaned in to kiss Seth. She smiled at him. "I love.you."

Ryan lay in bed with Marissa. "I have something to tell you, Ryan," said Marissa. "I'm pregnant."

Kirstin kissed a tired Sandy. He smiled at her. "Rachel's left for good."

"Good." She said.

THE NEXT WEEK...

Marissa, Ryan, Seth, and Summer sat in Marissa's car. Ryan was driving. "Las Vegas, here we come," smiled Ryan.

"I love the Vegas," smiled Seth.

"Yeah, and if we pick up any more of those skanks and have to play cards to win money so that we don't die, guess what Cohen, it'll be no more sex for you, and by the way..."

Marissa began to nibble softly on Ryan's neck as they slowly drove off into the distance, leaving the O.C. behind.

END OF PART I


	9. Marriage and Videotape

PART II

Chapter 9-

Marissa smiled at Ryan, she in a long, flowery blue dress. She wore a cheap wedding veil over her head, a golden ring on her finger. She leaned in to kiss her new husband as the Elvis impersonator shut the bible. Summer and Seth sat in the front pew, Summer sobbing uncontrollably. "I can't believe Marissa's getting married!" she cried. "And to Atwood! I always thought it would be Luke...sort of! Waaahhh!"

Seth massaged her neck, letting her lean against him. "It seemed like yesterday when it was just me, Cohen, Cooper, and Luke!"

"Uh, actually, Summer, until Ryan came, you didn't even notice me."

"Whatever, Cohen. Anyway, not to disturb the new Mr and Mrs Ryan Atwood or anything, which, I think if I tried, I couldn't anyway–" she glanced up at the couple who were currently making out, "–But where are we staying tonight?"

Marissa smiled down at her. "The Four Seasons penthouse!"

"Omigod!" cried Summer, grabbing Seth and pushing her lips to his. "FOUR SEASON FLIPPING PENTHOUSE!"

"Yeah, Summer, but–"he turned to Ryan "isn't that where He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named lived?"

Marissa and Ryan stared at each other blankly.

"Well, we are so not not staying there just because of Marissa's ex-boyfriend who, might I add, is probably locked up in some mental hospital right this moment."

"Guys, calm down," smiled Marissa. "Don't make a big deal out of nothing."

Summer and Seth sat in the parlor of the Four Seasons Penthouse. Seth sighed miserably. "They're probably making love. Having so much fun."

"I told you before we got to the chapel. No sex. None."

"Well, what do you want to do for fun?"

"I'm going to get a beer from the fridge. Want one?"

"Yeah," said Seth.

"Well then get your ass up and get one yourself." Summer smiled and Seth shot her the bird. "Smartass."

"But you know I love you."

Summer smiled and crawled on top of him. They began to make out. "But no sex," she said.

"None," he smiled, letting the strap of her dress fall down the side of her arm.

Summer and Seth lay naked in bed. He wasn't sure how they had gotten there. It was a few hours after they had been in the living room. He smiled. He was completely and totally drunk. "Summer," he said, "wake up, sweetie."

He saw that she was wearing something on her head. Something white. It was a wedding veil. They had taken Marissa's wedding veil? He looked down at his and her hand. There was a ring on each. They had stolen their rings too? Oh no. Oh no. Holy shit.

They were married.

Marissa lay in Ryan's arms. Ryan glanced up at the wall and saw that there was a camera. A camera? Oh no! Was someone watching them? Oh no! Ryan quickly stood. He hurried up to the camera.

In a room far down the hall sat a young man in a chair, watching several televisions. He was...

Marissa quickly stood. "What is it Ryan?"

"Marissa, someone's watching us."

In Chino, a young woman hung from the ceiling fan in her home. Her mother walked into the room, saw her, and screamed. The mother was holding a baby. "Theresa!" she cried.

Kirstin glanced over at Sandy. "I didn't get a chance to tell you. They found Lindsay."

Julie sat in her bedroom. Flipping through her magazine. Suddenly something hit her. Where was Marissa?

Theresa's mother quickly dialed up Eddie. "Eddie! Oh thank God! Eddie, Theresa's dead!"

"What?" Eddie said on the other end of the line.

"She had a note! It said that it was because of Ryan."

"What? That son of a bitch! I'm coming over to get the baby!"

"Eddie, wait. There's something I have to tell you."

"What?" snapped Eddie.

"I don't think the baby is your's."

Ryan charged into Seth and Summer's room. "Pack your bags. We've got to get out."

"Ryan," said Seth. "I think me and Summer–got married."

"What!"

"Well, we were drunk and–"

"Just pack your bags, and hurry."

Seth quickly woke Summer, who smiled and woke up. When she saw the wedding rings, she frowned. "Oh, my God..."

Marissa looked up from packing the bags. She glanced up at Ryan. "Did you find out who it was?"

"No, but don't worry," he said, kissing her gently. "We'll just go back to Newport and everything will be okay."

"We have barely been here a day."

"I know. Don't worry, we'll have a honeymoon this summer."

"Okay," smiled Marissa. Ryan grabbed the suitcases and began to lug them out of the room.

Seth grabbed Summer and kissed her. "It's okay. We'll get it annulled as soon as we get back to Newport."

Summer nodded, looking down, but then glanced back up at him. "What if I want to stay Mrs. Seth Cohen?"

Seth smiled. "Oh, this might be better than Chrismukkah."

Summer smiled and grabbed her husband around the neck, kissing him hard. "I love you, Seth Cohen."

On the ride home, everyone tried not to think about the video cameras. They barely noticed the blue BMW that followed them the whole way back to Newport.


	10. The Plan

Chapter 10-

Marissa and Ryan were dragging suitcases out of the back of the car when Kirstin and Sandy approached them suspiciously. "So, how was the concert in Las Vegas?"

"Oh," coughed Ryan and Marissa, both glancing at each other. Summer and Seth stood behind them, glancing down at their feet, for, no matter how horrible Summer's rage blackouts may be, there was something even worse in the presence of all four. The Cohens. Oh, and then there was the dreaded **_JULIE COOPER-NICHOL_**. Marissa glanced at Ryan, who smiled and turned back to the Cohens. "Um, well, we sort of..."

"It was very fun!" cried Seth, jumping in between Marissa and Ryan. "I love The Killers, don't you, Summer?"

Summer glared hard at him. "Yeah–yes. I do. Um, can I speak to you in private, Cohen?" Summer grabbed the collar of his shirt and yanked him behind the car. "What do you think you're doing Cohen?"

"Uh, protecting us from the wrath of my _parents._ Listen, tonight I'll tell my parents that I'm thinking of proposing to you. You're only a few weeks pregnant and not showing yet...we can get married and say it happened on the honeymoon."

"Good thinking Cohen," smiled Summer, "but what about Ryan and Marissa!" She slapped him upside the head. "God, you mentally challenged freak!"

"Calm down, calm down. We can have like a double wedding ceremony or something."

"How about NOT!" Summer shoved him against the car. "I want my very own wedding. O.K.?"

"O.K... Our last week of school is next week. We can pull this off."

Seth and Summer walked back towards Ryan, Marissa, and the Cohens. "Yeah...Ryan, I'll help you unpack."

"Me, too..." said Summer

Marissa glanced from Ryan to Summer to Seth and back at Ryan. "Okay, I'll help too."

"Y'all are some freaky peo–"

"Just come on," said Seth, dragging Ryan towards the pool house, a suitcase in hand.

"So," said Sandy, glancing at his wife. "What do you think they did this time?"

"Okay, here's the deal..."

"Yeah?" said Ryan. "You know you totally blew it for us out there, Seth?"

"No," said Seth. "I saved all our asses. Now, today, Ryan and I will go to the jewelry store, and buy two engagement rings..."

"Cohen, where is this plan going?"

"Ryan will go to Julie Cooper and–Bad plan, nix that. Ryan, you're just gonna ask for Sandy and Kirstin's approval for your marriage to Marissa, as will I–"

"You're getting married to Marissa!" cried Summer.

"God, woman, will you let me talk?"

"Whatever."

"Anyway, I'll ask for Summer's hand in marriage from her parents, and then we can propose to each other and it's a done deal."

Marissa sat in her bedroom, brushing her hair, thinking over the past few months. Everything from her past was starting to piece together now. She had a reoccurring dream in which she fell from the pier...over and over and over. And then there was this dude with black hair that stuck up in the front–a gun...a mental hospital...that had talked about him... some psycho, Ryan said. She didn't notice the man with the gun as she sat in her bedroom that very day, staring in at her from her window.


	11. Rerun

Chapter 11-

Marissa glanced into her mirror. She saw the door to her bedroom slam shut. "Huh?" she said. Marissa swung around from the vanity. "Who–"

There stood the boy with black hair–the one that had the gun–and now he had a gun also. He had a gun...a gun... "Hello, Marissa. From my understanding, you've been doing some very naughty things. Getting married, pregnant, and you forgot all about me!" He slammed his fist against the wall. "How dare you?"

"What? How did you get in? Where's my mother!"

"Probably rotting in Hell right about now."

"You killed her!" Marissa leapt to her feet. "Oh my God!" She began to cry. "But–why? Why?"

"It'll be okay, Marissa. You love me, I love you, we can be happy together."

"I don't even know you!" Marissa backed towards the wall, grabbing a thick metal finger nail filer. She held it in her hand where it was barely visible.

"What? You stupid whore! Don't say that!" He shot her in her right shoulder. "Don't say that! Don't say that!"

"You shot me," gaped Marissa, biting her lip. She was in so much pain. Would she die?

As if he had read her mind, he smiled and said, "You won't die. I didn't shoot your heart or anything. God." Oliver charged at her. He grabbed her around her waist and flung her over his shoulder. "C'mon Marissa. Our love for each other will last forever, however your friends will not."

"Yeah, dad, the thing is, me and Ryan want to get married to Summer and Marissa. See, I know that we are old enough to now, since we are both 18 and about to go off to college, and well, I think that its about time that we went off into the real world and..."

"Seth, stop blabbering," said Ryan. "What he's trying to say is, we love these girls very much, and it's about time we began our life together. We want your approval to be married."

"Wow," said Sandy, and glanced at Kirstin. "_Wow_. Big one. Okay...do you guys realized what this is all about–I know Ryan does...you know about responsibility and such...but you don't even know what college you're going to."

"Stanford," said Seth, slightly raising his hand. "And Ryan applied there too. Marissa and Summer are going there too, I think."

"We can make this work, Sandy," said Ryan. "I love Marissa–"

"And I love Summer, don't forget that," said Seth, matter-of-fact-like.

"We are ready for this," said Ryan. "The question is, are you?"

Sandy and Kirstin looked at each other, a bit in awe.

Oliver threw Marissa into the passenger's side of his car. He climbed in the driver's seat and pressed PLAY on the C.D. player. He sang the lyrics along with the C.D.

"_Going to the chapel and we're (clap) gonna' get ma-ah-arried_."

Summer glanced up at Seth and smiled. "So," she said, "how'd it go with your parents?"

"They're a little freaked out...or you can say a lot freaked out, but I think that even though they really don't want us to get married, they're okay with it in the end."

Summer nodded. "So now it's time to face my dad...and the stepmonster."

Ryan stood at the door of the Nichols Mansion, where Marissa lived with her mom. He rang the door, a bouquet of flowers in one hand, a diamond ring in the pocket of his shirt. He didn't see the BMW backing out of the driveway and driving off down the street. Therefore, he stood there ten minutes waiting for someone to come to the door. Finally, after fifteen minutes, he checked the door and found it was unlocked. Ryan slipped inside and looked around. Everything looked fine in the foyer, but when he reached the parlor, Ryan found an overturned chair and a broken lamp. He leaned over to pick up the red velvet sitting chair and then saw something behind a loveseat. It was a large lump that appeared to possibly be dirty clothes, or even a blanket bundled in a heap. He walked over to the heap and saw that it was neither the former or the latter.

The lump in the floor was Marissa's mom, Julie Cooper.


	12. Escapers and Arrivers

Chapter 12-

Marissa lay unconscious in Oliver's car. Oliver sat in the driver's seat ordering two Value Meals from the Drive Thru Lady at McDonald's. "Thanks," he said, rolling up the window. He glanced at Marissa, smiled, and ran his hand through her dark hair. "I love you baby."

Suddenly she opened her eyes. "I love you too, Oliver!" screamed Marissa, stabbing her nail filer into his hand. Oliver cried out in pain as Marissa quickly kicked the door open and clambered out the car.

Oliver pulled the nail filer out of his hand, climbed out of the car, and ran after Marissa. He pulled a syringe out of his coat pocket and stuck it into her arm. Marissa cried out as she grew weak. "Go to sleep, baby," said Oliver, letting Marissa fall into his arms. He smiled and dragged her back into the car, making sure no one saw them. It was dark outside, and the McDonald's parking lot was deserted.

Ryan had immediately called the police after finding the body of the former Mrs. Caleb Nichols. They counted him as a suspect–actually, he was there number one suspect. Ryan had called Summer and Seth and told them about the murder...and then he realized something. Where was Marissa? What had happened to his wife during all of this ordeal? Something hit his stomach hard, especially when the police informed him that there had been a "struggle" in Marissa's bedroom. Her vanity had been overturned, along with a small stool. They found a gun on the floor of her bedroom, left there in a hasty getaway.

They said the gun was registered to one Oliver Trask.

"Where would Oliver take Marissa?" said Ryan.

"One of the Four Seasons, most likely," said Seth.

"No, not a Four Seasons–they'd find him far too easily. Think...where would the police not look for them?" Ryan, Summer, and Seth, were in Ryan's pool house. Ryan paced the room anxiously.

"What about Oliver's parent's house in Palm Springs?" said Summer.

"Yes. Good thinking, Summer." Ryan smiled and ran out the room.

"My wife is so smart!" said Seth, kissing Summer on the cheek.

"Seth, do you think that Oliver will hurt Marissa?" her eyes were growing misty now. "I don't want anything to happen to her."

"We'll save her," said Seth. He smiled. "I promise."

The girl sat in the back of the taxi-cab, riding towards the Cohen house. She paid the driver and stepped out of the run down vehicle, examining her surroundings. "Wow, so this is how Ryan lives." She smiled and motioned the small boy and two girls out of the car. "Vali, Chris, Yvonne, lets go up and meet the Cohens." She held the two girls hands and motioned for the boy to follow.

"Aunt Jupiter, is this where Uncle Ryan lives?"

Jupiter smiled and looked down at her daughter, Valentine. "Yes, it is." And she turned and rang the doorbell.


	13. Bribary

Chapter 13-

Oliver placed Marissa's wrists inside the handcuffs and locked them, hearing the soft click as he smiled and kissed her lips. They were sweet and soft...everything about her was like that. Marissa was perfect. And now Marissa was Oliver's property. No, not property. She deserved to be called better than that.

"When Ryan finds out where you have me," Marissa said through tears, "He will kill you."

Oliver smiled at her. "Believe that if you wish, dear. I've got to go wash up, though. We have a big date tonight."

Jupiter rang the doorbell and waited patiently. Finally, the door opened, and there was Kirstin, phone in her hand. "Hello," she said to Jupiter. "Who are you?"

"I'm Jupiter Atwood, Ryan's sister." Jupiter motioned to Yvonne, who stood beside her. "And this is Ryan's daughter, Yvonne."

"Is Oliver here?" Ryan asked the maid, Henrietta. "Oliver Trask?"

"No," she said, duster in hand. "He left a few hours ago."

"Where did he go?" said Ryan angrily, impatient.

"Who are you?" she asked. "You police? You lookin' for him? 'Cuz I found this." She showed Ryan what appeared to be a receipt. It said Ryan had rented an apartment in San Diego.

"Thank-you," said Ryan, jotting down the address. "Very much, really."

Henrietta shut the door and turned to continue cleaning.

"Ryan's sister?" said a flabbergasted Kirstin. "Hold on, I've got a phone call." Kirstin turned from Jupiter and held the receiver from the phone up to her lips. "Hello?"

"Kirstin," It was Sandy. He sounded upset. "Kirstin, I have some bad news."

"What?" said Kirstin, impatient, wondering what else could have possibly happened.

"Kirstin, Julie's dead."

It was an hour later. "I don't see Ryan yet," smiled Oliver, adjusting his tie. "Are you ready for our big date? You know we'll have to leave in a day or so... Are you going to dress up?"

"No," snapped Marissa.

"Do you need some more clothes? We've got plenty of money."

"If you think that you will get away with this, just wait–My father _and _my husband will get you."

"Your husband? Oh yes, that's right. You and Ryan are married." Oliver smiled slyly. "You underestimate me, Marissa. No wall can stop love. No mountain nor sea nor volcano–"

"I don't love you," growled Marissa. "And I never will."

"We'll see about that," smiled Oliver, turning to leave the room, "We'll see about that."

He returned a few moments later dragging something behind him. A small body.

"What did you do to her!"

"Don't worry. She's still alive."

"Please don't hurt her," begged Marissa. "Don't hurt Kaitlyn."


	14. The Break In

Chapter 14-

Ryan, Seth, and Summer sat outside the three story building in San Diego. Ryan was nervous and smoking a cigarette. "I thought you quit," said Seth, glancing at the near stub in Ryan's hand.

"I always keep a spare packet in my pocket...just in case."

Seth nodded, wiping perspiration from his forehead. "You mind if I have one of those too?"

Marissa glanced down at her little sister, Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn was chained to the wall, just like she was. Marissa smiled encouragingly, then closed her eyes, trying to picture herself in another place. Not here. Not in this dump. With him.

Jupiter escorted the children inside the mansion and told them to sit down in the living room. "Mrs. Cohen, are you okay?"

Kirstin wiped a few tears away from her cheek. Kirstin couldn't tell her to leave. She was Ryan's sister. "Yes," she said, a little choked up. "I'm sorry... I just received some bad news..."

Jupiter nodded. "If you want, I can leave."

"No, that's okay."

"Um, is Ryan here? I have someone that wants to see him..."

She glanced down at Yvonne. "This is his daughter, Yvonne."

Summer stood in front of the door that led into Oliver's three bedroom apartment. She rang the door impatiently and tapped her foot waiting. Remember, she thought to herself. Distract him...

The door opened and Summer saw Oliver standing before her. His hand was wrapped in a bandage and there were various cuts on his face and arms. Summer didn't know what to do, so she just flung herself on him. She began to kiss him and quickly led him towards one of the back rooms, noticing that Seth and Ryan were standing at the window behind Oliver. She quickly directed him towards one of the bedrooms and began to shut the door when Oliver stopped her.

"Woah, who are–Summer? Is that you?" Oliver stood there, mouth dropped, shocked. "What are you doing here?"

"Oliver," nervously, Summer bit her lip. "Oliver, I can't stand it anymore. I've known this my whole life–well, since I met you–I love you, Oliver."

"Sure," said Oliver sarcastically. "What do you want, Summer?"

Summer rolled her eyes. "Okay, the truth is..." Think Summer, think. "I want backstage tickets to a Rooney concert. I mean, I just love them!"

"This isn't about Marissa, is it? Because me and her are in love and–"

"No, silly," said Summer, rolling her eyes. "Me and Coop stopped being friends along time ago."

Seth watched as Ryan pulled open the window and climbed in. "You stay here," he said to Seth. "Keep watch." He tossed Seth a walkie-talkie. "If you see Oliver coming my way, alert me immidiately."

Seth nodded. "This is just like a comic book. Dude, I am like a super hero...Hmm...The Adventures of Seth Cohen..."

"Sure," said Ryan, tip-toeing across the room. "I'll be back as soon as possible, O.K.?"

"Sure," said Seth. He sat on the windowsill and began to whistle, glancing around.

Summer smiled at Oliver weakly and said, "Please?"

Oliver shook his head. "You're not very good at lying, Summer." He grabbed her around the neck and began to strangle her. Summer managed to scream as he threw her onto the bed and threw a pillow over her head, trying to suffocate her.

"Help!" screamed Summer. "Help me!"

Marissa heard the screams as she stood there, chained to the wall. She lifted her head, surprised. "Summ?"

Seth heard the screams too. He quickly back flipped–or tried to, really he just fell on his back on the carpeted floor and rolled a few times– and ran towards the bedroom. He flung open the door, grabbed Oliver, and slammed his head into the side of the wall. "Don't mess with Summer!" he screamed. That was when his sudden burst of adrenaline ran out of fuel and Oliver grabbed him and threw him into the closet, locking him inside it.

"Help!" Seth cried. It was dark. He had dropped the walkie-talkie in midst of all the panic.

Oliver made sure that Summer was unconcious before he turned towards the door. "Obviously," Oliver said to himself, "Seth and Summer wouldn't come alone... They would have someone here to help them..." Oliver picked up the walkie-talkie that had fallen to the floor. He could hear Ryan's voice on the other end.

"Seth? Seth, are you O.K.?"

Ryan quickly began to rummage through Oliver's things, looking for a key to the handcuffs that held Marissa prisoner in the other room. Ryan didn't see Oliver behind him as he said, "Gotcha," lifting the keys into the air above him.

"No," said Oliver. "I've got you." Oliver held the gun up to the back of Ryan's head. "Come with me," he smiled, leading Ryan to the other bedroom. "We've got some business matters to be taken care of."

"What are you going to do?" Ryan glanced around as he saw Marissa and Kaitlyn handcuffed to the wall.

"Ryan!" screamed Marissa through tears. "Ryan! No!"

Ryan glanced around, the keys still in hand, and turned towards Oliver. "What are you going to do?"

Oliver grinned evilly. "There can't be any traces of Marissa's past life. We want to start a new one."


	15. The Rescue

Chapter 15-

Marissa began to sob as she heard the gun make the soft clicking noise. Oliver was going to kill Ryan. Her husband. Her one true love. His brains were going to be blown from his head and Marissa couldn't do anything about it because she was chained to the fucking wall. Marissa begged Oliver, pleaded, told him she would marry him, she would do anything, just don't kill Ryan and her little sister. He had already done so much. Killed her mother...kidnaped Marissa...kept her and her little sister in captivity...and now he was going to kill her sister and her husband. How could things get any worse.

"I've got Summer and Seth in there, too," smiled Oliver. He pointed the gun towards the door, as if to make a point. "Don't worry. When I'm finished, there will be nothing but you and me, Marissa. Just you and me."

Seth kicked the door and kicked it until finally he felt it give way. Seth pushed it open and clambered out the closet. "Fresh air!" he cried. Then he ran over to Summer and began to shake her. "Summer? Are you okay? Summer?"

She didn't move.

"Summer!" he sobbed. "Summer!"

Seth's eyes were filled with rage. His face was red with fire, and he quickly began to walk out of the room, across the living room, and towards the bedroom where Marissa, Kaitlyn, and Ryan were held captive. Seth stood there behind Oliver for several minutes, trying to gather his courage. The only one who saw him was Marissa, and their eyes made contact and she knew to be silent. If she made one gesture towards him, anything to alert Oliver's suspicions, he would be dead in an instant and there would be no hope for any of them.

After gathering his courage, Seth leaned back and then charged forward, leaping onto Oliver's back and flinging his arms around him. Hold on for dear life, thought Seth. Just hold on.

Oliver was shocked. Something–someone had just grabbed him from behind and thrown him to the ground. A second later, Ryan had him in a head lock, shoving his face into the carpet. "You stupid bitch," said Ryan, grabbing the gun from Oliver's hand. "Seth," said Ryan, "Call the police."

But Seth just stood there.

"Seth," said Ryan, "Call the police." He said it more firmly this time.

"He killed Summer," said Seth in a monotonous voice. "He killed her."

Marissa gasped, horrified.

"What?" said Ryan, shocked.

"He killed her. He killed Summer. Ryan, hand me the gun."

Ryan just sat there. "What?"

"He killed her, Ryan. HAND ME THE GUN."

Ryan blankly handed Seth the gun, still not knowing if what he was doing was the right thing. "He won't hurt us anymore," said Seth.

The ambulance arrived an hour later. Summer wasn't dead, contrary to the beliefs of her friends. The death of Oliver Trask, according to Ryan, was the cause of self defense. That was their story, and they were sticking to it.

Ryan, Marissa, Seth, and Summer (who was still out of breath three hours later) returned home to Newport. Ryan dropped Seth and Summer by Summer's house, and then he and Marissa decided to return to the pool house with Kaitlyn. When they reached the Cohen's house, they walked around the back so as not to cause a big riot or whatever, and opened the door to the pool house.

"Hello, Ryan," said Jupiter, who was sitting on his bed. "Long time, no see."


	16. The Wedding

Part 3

_Married Life_

Chapter 16-

"Oh, so this is your sister?" said Marissa, running a hand through her hair.

"Yeah," said Ryan. "Uh, Jupiter... meet my fiancé, Marissa?"

"Nice to meet you," Jupiter snorted sarcastically. "Well, whatever happened to Theresa? I bet you're the reason she killed herself."

"What?" said Ryan and Marissa in unison. Kaitlyn just stood there playing with the three kids.

"Oh, and meet your daughter," said Jupiter, rolling her eyes angrily. "Her name is Yvonne. Not that you'd care. I mean, you haven't ever seen her before. You left your pregnant girlfriend to care for the baby all by herself."

"What?" said Ryan. "But Theresa told me–she told me that the baby had died..."

"I'm sure..." Jupiter lifted Valentine into her lap. "Well, here's what's happened since you've gone. Theresa has killed herself, no big surprise there. I mean, nobody wanted her or anything. Her mother and you abandoned her...so did Eddie. He is with some girl now in Portland. They have three kids together. Have you seen him lately? Of course not. Oh, and Sarah, your ex-girlfriend, got pregnant by Eddie and now she and Arturo are dating...That's basically all...Trey's out of prison...Mom got high one night and got in a major wreck and is paralyzed...that's basically everything. So," she said sarcastically, "How's your life?"

"First off," said Ryan angrily, "Theresa told me that the baby had died. Obviously, that as a lie... And I didn't know about any of this because lately, I've had problems of my own."

"Yeah," said Jupiter, "I'm sure. Well, anyway, I just came by so that you could meet your daughter. She's leaving with me. Obviously, you can't take care of her. _You have problems of your own to take care of_, right?"

"Don't be a bitch, Ju," said Ryan, walking over to Yvonne and taking her in his arms. He sat down by Marissa and put her in his lap. "Hey..." He looked up at Jupiter. "What's her name again?"

Jupiter rolled her eyes. "Yvonne. Her name is Yvonne."

"And those are your two kids?" said Ryan.

"They're twins...Valentine and Christmas. I call them Vali and Chris. Don't ask...I was pretty high when I had them..."

Ryan chuckled softly. "I'm sure. Listen...They can come to our wedding..."

"Wedding...oh...you and her?" She motioned to Marissa. "When is it?"

"In a week...we want to have the wedding before we go off to college."

"Right," said Jupiter. She glanced down at her feet. "I'll ask Trey if he wants to come."

Ryan's eyes got wide. "Trey? Is that really nessecary?"

Jupiter glared angrily at him.

"Okay, okay," said Ryan, lifting his arms into the air as if he was giving up.

Jupiter stood and took Yvonne into her arms. She told Chris and Vali to follow her. "See you at the wedding," she said. "Have a nice week."

Seth and Ryan stood staring at each other. They had on their tuxedos, ready for their double wedding. They were in the dressing rooms outside the glass cathedral. "Five more minutes," said Ryan anxiously.

"Yeah," said Seth, hands in his pockets.

"It's been two years," said Ryan. "Since I came..."

"Yeah... It has...It seems like a century..."

"More like a millennium," said Ryan, "with everything that's been going on."

The wedding director popped her head inside the tent and said, "It's time guys."

"So, my best man," said Ryan. "You've got our rings?"

Seth flashed them before Ryan's eyes. "Yup."

"I've got your's."

"Then it's time to start the wedding from hell," laughed Seth, and led the way out of the tent.

The seats were filled. Jimmy, Trey, Kirstin, Haley, Sandy, Nana Cohen, Grandma Cooper, Jupiter, Valentine, Yvonne, Christmas, Luke, Luke's parents–in separate rows–Sarah, Arturo, Eddie, Eddie's wife Mona, their three children, and even Alex came. It was one grand union, bringing together everyone from different worlds. Chino and Newport and Corona and Portland and Riverside–altogether to witness the holy matrimony.

Ryan was flabbergasted as he watched Marissa make her way down the isle in her long, white silk dress, the train leading several feet behind her, Kaitlyn and Yvonne paving the way in front of her as flower girls. Summer was next, in a white dress, almost identical to that of Marissa's. They both stood before their husbands as they said their vows and they were pronounced husband and wife.

"If you have any objections–" began the preacher.

That was when Alex stood. "You stupid bitch!" Her words were slurred. She was drunk.

Kirstin motioned to Sandy for someone to get her out of there.

"I'll fucking kill you, Ryan. You took my girl!"

Marissa's eyes grew wide. "What?"

"I'll get you! Marissa, I still love you! Marissa!" she cried as she was dragged from the wedding ceremony. "Marissa!"

Ryan turned to Marissa. "It's okay, sweetie."

"Who is that freak?" said Marissa.

"No one," said Ryan. "No one at all."

Ryan and Marissa shared their first dance as husband and wife at the reception. They played the slow song _Honey and the Moon_. Marissa leaned her head against Ryan's shoulder, eyes closed. "I love you..." she said, her words trailing off. "I love you, Ryan..."

"Thank you?" said Ryan. They both laughed softly.

Summer and Seth danced across from them. Summer glanced up at Seth and said, "We're married, Seth...and we're going to have a baby..."

Seth nodded. "Yes we are, Summer. Yes we are..."

Across from the reception hall, a small convertible sat outside. There was a woman sitting in the car, staring through the window. "I'll get you..." she said. "For killing my daughter." It was Lindsay's mother...and she knew...about everything...

That was when a very drunk Trey drove his car right into her convertible, killing her instantly. "Oops," he said drunkenly. Trey quickly pulled away and drove off. Jupiter was in the passenger side of the car.

"Oh my God, Trey! You hit that woman's car."

"Shh...you can't tell anyone."

And they disappeared down the interstate.


	17. The Honeymoon

Chapter 17-

Marissa kissed Ryan and pushed him onto the bed. She unzipped her dress and let him pull it over her head. She kissed his chest as she slowly began to unbutton Ryan's shirt and then quickly unzipped his pants and let them drop to the floor. They lay like that for a few moments, just kissing, wearing nothing but their underwear. Ryan finally turned on his side and unsnapped Marissa's bra and pulled it from her upper body. "I love you," she said, kissing his neck as he slid the underwear from her body, and then took off his own.

"I love you too." He rolled on top of her and began to kiss her again. "I love you more than I have ever loved anyone."

They began to move together, as one. Finally, much later, they fell on their backs and lay their panting, looking into each others eyes. Marissa lay her head on his chest. "What will it be like in college? Will we live together?"

Ryan kissed her lips long, lingering. "Yes," he said. "We will...I love you, Marissa."

Seth kissed Summer and rolled over on his side. They were also in bed together. "Do you want to get something to eat?"

"Yes. I'm starved." She kissed him again and slid on top of him. "Are you?" She lay her chin on top of his chest. "Damn I'm hungry." She kissed him again.

"This is the best honeymoon ever," said Marissa, sitting up in bed, eating a BLT delivered by room service. She smiled at him and kissed Ryan. "I love you so much."

Ryan wrapped his arms around her and pulled her towards him. "I love you, too."

Marissa smiled and stood up, bare naked, and walked over towards the balcony at the side of their room. Ryan stood and walked over towards her, wrapping his arms around her. "I want to go out tonight," said Marissa. "To see a play or something..."

"I was thinking we could stay inside," said Ryan, nibbling her neck.

Marissa smiled and laughed playfully. "Okay," she said. "That might be fun too."

Ryan fell onto the bed. He dragged Marissa down too, on top of him. He kissed her long, lingering.

Jupiter walked into the mall with her purse in hand. She had left the children with Trey, but doubted that was a good choice. She walked over to Victoria's Secret and began to look around. She bought something and then began to walk out when she was knocked to the ground by an oncoming vehicle–a teenager. The twenty-eight year old picked herself up and began to go through her things, trying to stuff it in a bag. The boy looked up. "Sorry," he said. Then he spied the lingerie she had purchased, and said: "You're pretty. I bet you would look good in that..." He laughed. "Sorry, I don't know where that came from."

Jupiter smiled. "That's okay...it's sweet..."

"Sorry...it's just...you're really pretty. Any man to have you would be really lucky."

Jupiter smiled. "Are you doing anything later?"

The boy shook his head.

"Would you like to come home with me?"

Jupiter sat up in bed, pulling the sheets up to cover her naked body. She turned to the teenager and smiled. "That was nice...what did you say your name was again?"

The teenager smiled. "My name is Zach."


	18. The Proposal

Chapter 18-

"So," said Zach, lying in bed beside Jupiter, running his hand through her hair, letting her head rest against his chest. "You haven't told me about yourself yet."

Jupiter smiled and glanced up at him. "My name is Jupiter Atwood... I have two children: Valentine and Christmas...they're twins...their father is named Arturo...Does this sound weird? I'm not scaring you, am I?"

"Why would you be scaring me?"

"Because I have children and because...I'm older than you are."

"How much older?"

Ten years, she thought to herself. "A lot older than you," Jupiter smiled and kissed him. "But that doesn't matter, does it?"

"No," said Zach. He stood and began to dress. "Listen, I've got to go...I need to get home, it's late..."

"Yeah," said Jupiter, stretching and yawning. "I've got to get back to my children, too."

They were in a hotel room–The Mermaid Inn. It was 12:55 A.M. and they had slept for a while. "Trey is with my kids and I don't know how responsible he is," she said, zipping up her pants and snapping her bra. She slid on her shirt and grabbed her pocket book. "I look a mess," she said, running her hand through her hair.

"No," said Zach. "You look beautiful."

They kissed one last time and left the room. Jupiter walked towards her car and climbed in, revving the engine and reversing out into the parking lot. She turned to leave and began to drive down the highway.

She was in love...wow...this was wonderful...

That was when the car next to her tried to cross in front of her. When doing so, it knocked her car hard, throwing her concentration off, and she swerved. Jupiter screamed as she went off the side of the road.

Ryan carried Marissa up the front stairs into Caleb's old house, which now belonged to Marissa, since she was 18 and there was no one else to leave it to besides Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn was staying with Kirstin and they would pick her up later, but for now it was there time. Ryan opened the door and began to carry her up the stairs when the phone rang. Ryan sat Marissa down on the bed and picked up the receiver. "Hello?" he said. "Uh-huh...uh-huh...Oh no..."

Ryan and Marissa sat in the waiting room, waiting for the doctor to come out of the double doors, baring news either good or bad. That was when the doors opened, but it wasn't Dr. Sanford that entered...It was Zach.

"Hey, Zach," said Ryan, standing to shake Zach's hand. "What are you doing here?"

"My girlfriend was in an accident...I'm here to see if she's going to be okay...Just got the call..."

"Oh," said Ryan. "My sister was in an accident too."

"Sorry about that," said Zach. "She'll probably be okay, though."

"Yeah," said Ryan. "Hopefully."

"Oh, look," said Marissa. "Here's Dr. Sanford now."

The doctor approached them slowly. "Well, she's going to be okay," said Dr. Sanford. "No serious injuries. If you want, you can go in and see Jupiter now."

That was when all three of them stood. "Oh," said Zach. "You know Jupiter?"

"No," said Ryan. "She's my sister."

Kirstin and Sandy were sitting on the loveseat, eating popcorn and watching _The Valley_ when the front door to their house flung open and in stormed Haley. "Where is he?"

"Where is who?" said Sandy.

"Jimmy! Where is he?"

"I guess he's in Hawaii," said Kirstin, popping a piece of popcorn in her mouth. "Oh, watch this, Haley. Justine has just declared her eternal love for Minnow and Minnow just said that he's sleeping with her aunt!"

"Wow," said Haley sarcastically. "Big deal. Well, do you know who sent me this!"

She held up a portrait drawn in pencil of herself standing in a long, white wedding dress. It said: _Haley: Love of My Life...From Your Secret Admirer_.

"I don't know," said Sandy. "I seriously don't know of anyone that could love someone like you, Haley. He seriously needs to get his head checked out."

"Haha, very funny Sand_ra_."

Sandy bore his eyes into her.

"Well, if you see Jimmy–"

"I doubt it. He's in Hawaii."

"–Tell him to call me."

"Won't do."

Zach and Ryan stared at each other for a few moments. "Ryan, calm down," said Marissa calmly. "He didn't know it was your sister."

"How could you?" Ryan said angrily. "She's ten years older than you! She's got kids! How are you supposed to be able to fucking provide for a whole family? You're 18 and you live off of your parents!"

Zach angrily stormed out of the room towards the room where Jupiter was kept. Ryan ran towards him, catching his arm and jerking him back. "You will leave Jupiter alone. You hear me? From now on, you're over."

"I am in love with Jupiter. We've only been together for a few weeks but I _love _her. You can't stop me."

"Oh yeah?" cried Ryan, punching him in the nose. "Watch me."

Zach lay there on the floor for a few moment, blood oozing down his face. He looked up blankly as Ryan and Marissa stepped over him and walked towards Jupiter's room. "Stay away from her," Ryan said one last time, looking back at Zach, who had one time been his friend. "Or I'll kill you."

Haley sat on her friend's yacht, filing her fingernails, when her friend walked in and said, "Haley, someone's here to see you." The girl moved aside and there was Jimmy.

"Jimmy?" said Haley, partly shocked, surprised, and a little bit angry. "What are you doing here?"

"I had to come see you, Haley. Haley, I love you. Really I do. I don't know what happened between us, really...But I want you back, Haley. I love you."

Haley stood quickly. "I don't know what to say."

Jimmy pulled a small velvet box out of his pocket, popped it open revealing a diamond ring, and said, "Just say yes."


	19. The Arrest

Chapter 19-

Marissa and Ryan stood at Jupiter's bedside. She was awake and looking around at them blankly. "Is he here?" asked Jupiter. "I asked them to call him."

Ryan shook his head. Play dumb, he told himself. "Who?"

"My boyfriend….Zach…I said for them to call him. I want him to be here with me."

Marissa looked at Ryan pleadingly. She led him outside the room and began to speak. "You can't do this, Ryan. It's her right to have her boyfriend here…even if it is Zach…" Marissa stuck her finger in her mouth, making as if she would vomit. "She loves him," said Marissa. Marissa kissed Ryan softly. "Like I love you. Do you think that just because my mother forbade me to see you that I stopped loving you?"

Ryan smiled at her. "You have to do this, don't you?" Marissa began to kiss his neck. "Fine," said Ryan. "I give up. I give up."

Ryan held up his hands in the air as if he were surrendering. "Good boy," said Marissa. "Now go find Zach. I'll stay with your sister."

Haley smiled softly. "Yes, Jimmy. I will marry you." She ran towards him and leapt into his arms. He swiftly carried her out the yacht and onto the plank-way, carrying her towards his car. Once there, he threw her into the back seat and climbed on top of her, unbuttoning his shirt and sliding it from his body.

"I love you," he murmured as he unbuttoned her shirt and unsnapped her bra. He unbuckled his jeans and slid them to his feet, kicking them and his shoes from his body. Haley did the same until they were naked. Then, slowly, as one, they moved in a soft rocking motion. Haley moaned as Jimmy whispered softly in her ear.

"I love you," he said.

"I love you," she murmured.

Marissa sat beside Jupiter when she saw Ryan enter with Zach at his side. Zach had obviously cleaned his nose since there was no blood left. Ryan gently shoved him towards the bed and then walked over to Marissa. "I think we should leave them alone for a little while," said Ryan.

Marissa smiled and took Ryan's arm. "I love you, Ryan," she whispered in his ear as they walked towards the door. That was when, suddenly, three police appeared in the doorway, grabbing Ryan and shoving him to the ground. Marissa screamed in horror.

"Ryan Atwood, you are under arrest…"

Marissa backed into the wall, screaming, not realizing what was going on around her. She covered her mouth, heard something about Lindsay…Lindsay…they said that Ryan had killed Lindsay.

"What's happening?" said Jupiter. "What's happening?"

Marissa watched as they dragged Ryan down the hall. "Ryan!" she screamed, running after them. "Ryan!"

As Ryan was dragged down the hall, he cried, "Marissa! Marissa! I did it for you, Marissa!"

Marissa fell to the ground, sobbing, rocking herself back and forth…

Had Ryan killed Lindsay?


	20. The Loveseat

Chapter 20-

Marissa sat across from Ryan and listened as he talked solemnly. They were in the police station, nearly a month later. Ryan had been sentenced to serve ten years in prison for the murder of Lindsay. Marissa didn't know if he really had commited the murder or not...She didn't know what to believe. Marissa leaned in to kiss him, but he wouldn't let her. He leaned back."No," he said. "We can't."

"What?" said Marissa, confused. They were married, weren't they? Or was that a big lie too?

"Sign this..." said Ryan, sliding a paper and pen towards her.  
"What is it?" she began, but then gasped, horrified. They were papers officializing the divorce of Ryan and Marissa Atwood. "No," said Marissa. "No, I won't divorce you."

"You have to," said Ryan fiercly, grabbing her wrist as she tried to stand. "I'll be in here for ten years. You can't wait that long."

"Yes I can!" screamed Marissa. "I can, Ryan! I love you!"

"But I don't love you," said Ryan angrily. "I don't love you."

"What?" said Marissa, shocked. "You don't love me?"

"Sign the papers."

"You don't love me?"

"Just sign the damned papers." Ryan grabbed her wrist and forced her into writing position. "Sign it."

Sobbing, Marissa quickly jotted down her signature and then bolted out the room. If only what Ryan had said was true, this would be so much easier. Ryan did love her.

Marissa lay sobbing on her bed in the empty house when she heard the doorbell ring. She walked downstairs, wiping tears from her face, and answered the door. "Hello," she said to Seth when she saw that he was standing there. "Come in."

"I heard what happened," said Seth, sitting down on the loveseat. "I heard about Ryan and you..."

"I don't want to talk about it," said Marissa.

Seth stood. "I'm sorry. I'll leave."

"No," said Marissa. "I need someone here for me right now..."

Seth began to speak but was interrupted when Marissa kissed him. Right there. In her living room.

Marissa hastily began to unbutton her shirt and drop her skirt to her feet, then began to kiss Seth passionately, pulling his shirt over his head and unbuckling his pants. Seth quickly unhooked her bra and let her pull off his boxer shorts. He grabbed her underwears and slid it down her legs until he could pull it off of her feet. They fell back onto the loveseat, kissing, moaning, and the whole world seemed to dissapear.


	21. The Final Goodbye

Chapter 21-

Marissa lay beside Seth the next morning on the floor in her living room. She smiled softly at him. "I love you." she said.

"No," said Seth. "You don't. You used me. And, I guess, I used you."

Marissa sat up, shocked. "What?"

"You were sad, and so you came running to me." Seth ran his hand through her hair. "But if it makes you feel better, I do have feelings for you. I know I do. Other wise I would have stopped you last night."

Marissa nodded. "So...what do we do now?"

"We go on with our lives. You know you love Ryan. You don't want anyone but him. So tell him that. I know that he loves you." Seth stood and began to dress. "Trust me on this matter. You're the only one he'll ever love. Why do you think that he killed Lindsay?"

"What?"

"You didn't hear his testimony last week?"

"Yes, but--"

"Marissa, he loves you." Seth zipped up his jeans. "And I have someone that I love too. Let's do the right thing."

Marissa stared at him goggle eyed as he opened her front door and left.

Ryan sat across from Marissa again at the same table. "What is it, Marissa? I thought I told you never to come here again."

"Ryan!" she sobbed. "I know you love me. I know that you care for me. Why else would you have...killed her?"

"I don't love you," said Ryan.

"Yes, you do." She moved to touch his hands but he withdrew them and put them in his lap.

"I won't be out for ten more years. And that's with parole. Go. Leave."

Marissa stood crying. "But I love you, Ryan!"

"Have a nice live, Marissa."

THE END...

READ PART II OF THIS STORY

TO BE ADDED SOON.


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